Hand-plate for a door



Oct. 6, 1964 N. E. MANnoN HAND-PLATE FOR A DooR Filed Feb. 7, 1962 United States Patent O ino.

Fiied Feb. 7, 1h62, Ser. No. 171,776 7 Claims. (Cl. 16-110) This invention relates generally to hand-plates or kickplates for doors or the like, and more particularly to novel construction thereof whereby the means for securing the plate to the door is hidden from view.

Heretofore, metal and glass plates used as handplates' for a door, to avoid smudging the door surface finish, have been most `frequently secured to the door by means of screws passing through the plate and into the door. Occasionally, frames secured to the door by visible screws have been employed to hold the plate to the door. In any event, the general appearance of the hand-plate as well as the overall appearance of the door is made less :attractive by the provision of the externally visible fasteners, and in addition to 4this factor provision of external fasteners makes it more difficult to clean the hand-plate and door when desired.

It is, the-refore, a general object of this invention to provide a hand-plate for a door or the like having an improved appearance.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hand-plate Whose appearance can be readily maintained.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hand-plate which may readily be dismounted for cleaning and sanitizing and then remounted to the door.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a handplate which may be readily dismounted from the door with an appropriate tool, to facilitate painting or other refinishing of the door surface, with facility of subsequent remounting of the hand-plate.

A further object is to provide a door-plate structure having ample support under the cover plate to eliminate excessive deilection in the cover plate and yet employ a of material thickness in the cover plate.

A further object is `to provide novel means for installing pull handles to door plates whereby the handles may be rmly attached without deflecting the cover plate.

A further object is to provide a door plate with a replaceable cover for maintenance repair or replacement by simply snapping a new cover plate in place without necessity of additional preparation to the door.

A further object is to provide a door plate assembly having a construction which allows an inexpensive material to be used in an attachment plate with `a cover plate of material usually more expensive to match other door accessories.

Described briefly, a hand-plate combination of the present invention, in a typical embodiment thereof, includes a base plate member secured by screws or similar fasteners to a door surface. The lateral margins of the base plate member extend outwardly from the door and are comparatively springy. A cover plate is provided having no irregularities on the frontal face thereof and having curved lateral margins which snap over the lateral marginal portions of the base plate member to secure the cover plate over the base plate, completely hiding the base plate and fastening means. A pull handle may also be easily installed vvithout visible fasteners.

The full nature of the invention will beY understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and the claims:

FIG. l shows a swinging door mounted to a door jamb, the swinging door having a handplate mounted thereon according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of the base plate member mounted to the door surface.

FIG. 3 is -an enlarged section through a fragment of the door taken along the lines 3 3 of FIG. l, showing the cover plate members mounted on the base plate members and showing a pull handle mounted to one of the cover plates.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section through the door of FIG. l taken along the lines 4 4 of FIG. l, illustrating a side elevational view of the hand-plate of the present invention as installed.

Referring to FIG. l, a swinging door 11 is mounted to the door jamb 12 by the two-direction swinging hinges 13. The door has mounted thereon adjacent the free end thereof, a hand-plate 14 according to the present invention with a pull handle 15 and including the cover plate 16 and base plate members 17 designated by the dotted lines behind the cover plate 16.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the base plate member 17 includes planar portions 18 and 19 having apertures 21 therethrough whereby the base member may be secured to the door 11 by means of the screws 22.

The opposite lateral margins 23 and 24 are defined by marginal portions of the base member integral with the planar portions 18 and 19. rl`hese marginal portions extend at portions 26 outwardly and upwardly from the surface 27 of the door 11 and then inwardly at portions 28 terminating at edges 29 facing each other. It will be recognized that by virtue of this construction, forces applied laterally inwardly on the marginal portions at the lateral margins 23 and 24 will resiliently spring or deflect the portions inwardly to some extent.

The cover plate 16 has a face 31 which is usually fiat and'without decoration. However, it can be decorated by embossing or otherwise while remaining generally planar in form. The opposite margins 32 and 33 of the cover plate are formed by integral marginal portions which extend downwardly from the face and then inwardly at the portions 34. The inwardly turned portions 34 terminate in edges 36 which generally face each other.

As is apparent from FIG. 3, the forms of the lateral marginal portions of the cover plate and `of the lateral marginal portions of the base plate member are such as to interlock in the assembled condition. The spacing of the facing portions 36 of the cover plate is, by comparison with the spacing of the lateral margins 23 and 24 of the base plate member, such that the cover plate may be mounted to the base plate member by moving it in the direction of the arrow 37. Thereupon the marginal portions of the base plate member are sprung slightly inwardly and the marginal portions of the cover plate member may be sprung slightly outwardly to allow passage of the edges 36 of the cover plate to beyond the margins 23 and 24 of the base plate member, to become secure in the position shown in FIG. 3.

It will be observed from FIG. 3 as well as FIG. 2, that raised portions or ribs 38 are provided in the base plate member. ln addition to serving as strengtheners for the base plate member, these serve also as supports for the central portion of the cover plate 16, to prevent any deformation or oil canning effect on the cover plate even if struck a severe blow.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be observed that the upper margin dland lower margin 42 of the cover plate 16 are curved much in the same fashion as the lateral margins thereof. Therefore, these margins are blended in with the lateral margins at the four corners and provide a neat appearing and easily cleaned unit. If it is desired to relinish the surface of the door, the cover plate 16 may readily be removed by inserting a curved tool between the door surface and one of the lateral margins of the cover plate at some point vertically located between the upper and lower base members. Also, if it is desired to clean the cover plate member with a different type of solution from that used to clean the surface of the door, the cover plate may be readily removed for this purpose also, and reinstalled by simply snapping it in lace.

p If desired, the handle may be installed as shown in FIG. 3. The handle is first secured to cover plate 16 by a screw 46 attaching each end of the handle to the cover plate. The screws 46 are tapped to provide an internal thread for engagement by screws 48 which pass through both base plates and the door itself. The screw head 49 bears upon the central portion 51 of base plate 52. It thereby prevents any deformation of the cover plate 16 even when the handle 15 is pulled sharply and even though the cover plate 16 may be of a comparatively soft decorative material (such as brass, for example) and having a thin cross section.

It will be recognized that variations in form may be devised which would be well within the scope of the present invention. For example, it may be desirable to provide a hand-plate which is circular or triangular in form. Moreover, the present invention encompasses all types of door plates whether used for or called push, pull, or kick plates, hand plates, mop plates, stretcher plates and armor plates, for example.

Therefore, while the invention has been disclosed and described in some detail in the drawings and foregoing description, they are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, as other modications may readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art and within the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

l. A snap-on plate combination for a door or the like and comprising:

a base plate having mounting surfaces lying in a plane and said base plate having means therein to receive a fastener for securing said base plate to the face of a door or the like with the mounting surface engaging the face of the door;

said base plate having opposite marginal portions extending outwardly and upwardly from the plane of the mounting surfaces and then inwardly toward each other and said base plate having support ribs extending upwardly from the said mounting surface plane, said ribs having planar support surfaces parallel to said plane; v

and a cover plate mounted on said base plate and having a generally planar exposed outer face and having' opposite marginal portions extending downwardly from said face and then inwardly toward each other and terminating in inwardly facing portions,

said inwardly facing portions being laterally spaced to engage said outwardly extending marginal portions of said base plate to secure said cover plate to said base plate, and said cover plate having a planar inner surface parallel to said outer face and immediately behind said outer face and engaging said support surfaces and supported thereby in a direction normal to said mounting plane.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the said marginal portions of said base plate are resiliently deecta'ole inwardly.

3. The combination as set forth in claim l wherein the said marginal portions of said base plate are curved.

4. A snap-on plate 'combination for a door or the like and comprising:

a base plate having a planar portion with apertures therein to receive screws for securing said base plate to a door or the like,

said base plate having parallel lateral marginal por- Cit tions curving upwardly and inwardly and terminating in inwardly facing edges,

said marginal portions being resiliently deilectable inwardly to receive and retain a face plate;

and a face plate,

said face plate having a generally planar central portion,

and said face plate having parallel lateral margins adjoining said central portion and curving downwardly and inwardly and terminating in inwardly facing edges,

said inwardly facing edges of said face plate marginal portions being laterally spaced to displace the base plate marginal portions inwardly during mounting of said face plate to said base plate and to secure said face plate to the marginal portions of said base plate after installation thereon.

5. A snap-on plate combination for a door or the like and comprising:

a base plate member having planar mounting portions therein lying in a first plane to adapt said base plate member for mounting to a door surface,

said base plate member having margins and a raised portion intermediate said margins, said raised portion having a planar support surface in parallel spaced relation to said first plane to support a cover plate member;

and a cover plate member covering said base plate member and having a planar inner surface lying in a second plane parallel to said first plane with said inner surface engaging the said support surface and supported thereby in a direction normal to said planes, and said cover plate member having a planar outer face parallel to said planes and unobstructed, to provide a striking surface for a hand to move the door,

each of said members having inconspicuous attaching means thereon for attaching the other of said members thereto.

6. A snap-on hand-plate combination for a door or the like and comprising: a base plate member having planar mounting portions lying in a common plane to adapt said member for mounting to a door surface, said base plate member having side margins and raised portions between said margins, said raised portions having planar surfaces lying in a plane parallel to said common plane to support a cover plate member; a cover plate member covering said base plate member, said cover plate member having an outer face and a planar inner face with said inner face engaging said planar surfaces of said raised portions and supported thereby in a direction normal to said planes, and each of said members having attaching means thereon for attaching the other of said members thereto; and a handle mounted on said outer face of said cover plate; and a first fastener having a head engaging the inner face of said cover plate member and having an externally threaded shank passing through said cover plate member and threadedly received in said handle to secure said handle to said outer face, said fastener being invisible when said members are attached to each other, and said fastener having an internally threaded hole which has an entrance in said head adjacent one of said mounting portions of said base plate member to receive a second fastener.

7. In combination, a door having front and rear parallel planar surfaces; a base plate member secured to each of said surfaces, each base plate member having integral support portions spaced from said surfaces; a cover plate member secured to earch of said base plate members and each cover plate member entirelyv covering one of said base plate members, and each cover plate member having an outer face and having an inner face contiguous with said support portions and supported thereby in a direction normal to said door surfaces; a handle mounted on the outer face of oneof said cover plate members; a first fastener having a head engaging the inner face of said one cover plate member and having an externally threaded shank passing through said one member and threadedly received in said handle to secure said handle to said outer face, said rst fastener having an internally threaded hole therein which has an entrance in said fastener head adjacent the one base plate member to which said one cover plate member is attached; and a second fastener having a head engaging the other of said base plate members and having a shank passing through the door and through said one of said base plate members and received in said first fastener hole, said shank having external threads thereon engaging the internal threads of said first fastener to support said handle and said one cover plate member in a direction normal to said door surfaces and prevent distortion of said one cover plate member when said handle is pulled. i

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,396,194 Parsons Mar. 5, 1946 2,536,494 Erkkila Ian. 2, 1951 2,728,597 Young Dec. 27, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTSl 489,144 Great Britain July 20, 1938 

6. A SNAP-ON HAND-PLATE COMBINATION FOR A DOOR OR THE LIKE AND COMPRISING: A BASE PLATE MEMBER HAVING PLANAR MOUNTING PORTIONS LYING IN A COMMON PLANE TO ADAPT SAID MEMBER FOR MOUNTING TO A DOOR SURFACE, SAID BASE PLATE MEMBER HAVING SIDE MARGINS AND RAISED PORTIONS BETWEEN SAID MARGINS, SAID RAISED PORTIONS HAVING PLANAR SURFACES LYING IN A PLANE PARALLEL TO SAID COMMON PLANE TO SUPPORT A COVER PLATE MEMBER; A COVER PLATE MEMBER COVERING SAID BASE PLATE MEMBER, SAID COVER PLATE MEMBER HAVING AN OUTER FACE AND A PLANAR SURFACES OF SAID RAISED PORTIONS AND SUPPORTED THEREBY IN A DIRECTION NORMAL TO SAID PLANES, AND EACH OF SAID MEMBERS HAVING AT- 